Dynamic network selection

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a telecommunication system featuring partly CS-based telecommunication and partly PS-based telecommunication. A dynamic controller is provided for making allocations between the parts, taking into account access network requests. A corresponding method and a computer program for implementing the controller are also claimed.

The invention relates to a telecommunication network and a method forcontrolling the allocation of a telecommunication user equipment to aterminal network.

Telecommunication is currently undergoing a revolution. It is animprovement, for instance, that the handover from conventional CS-basedtelecommunication (CS=circuit switching) to Internet-based PStelecommunication (PS=packet switching) is applied increasingly morefrequently.

This improvement, however, requires that a certain cooperation(interworking) must take place between these systems as long as thesedifferent systems are used in parallel with each other.

Such an interworking appears necessary in particular for all servicesthat contain voice.

Such an interworking between these systems is required because

-   -   voice in the PSTN/ISDN is predominantly CS-based;    -   voice on the Internet is predominantly PS-based;    -   most current cellular mobile radio systems support CS voice;    -   future generation cellular mobile radio systems no longer        support CS services, since all voice services will be based on        VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

This interworking is normally carried out by means of an interworkingserver, which implements a one-to-one transcoding of the voice signalswhere necessary.

The problem that arises in this context is when and how it is decidedand controlled within a network whether voice is implemented via theconventional CS service or via VoIP. In the known solutions this is doneusing predefined static scenarios.

The object of the present invention can therefore be considered that ofavoiding or circumventing this fixed allocation of the type of voicesignal.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the technicalteaching of the independent claims.

Advantageous embodiments and improvements of the invention will becomeapparent from the dependent claims, the content of which is herebyreferenced.

More particularly, the inventive dynamic allocation control allowsvarious criteria to be taken into account.

The following criteria are taken into account, with the following listnot being intended to limit the scope of the invention. On the contrary,all other known possible criteria for taking into account such criteriafor a dynamic access control are claimed also.

For outgoing calls the following criteria can be taken into account:

-   -   service    -   destination network    -   subscriber preferences    -   network operator preferences

For incoming calls the following criteria can be taken into account:

-   -   service    -   originating network    -   subscriber preferences    -   network operator preferences

A further embodiment of the invention provides for introducing anadditional information exchange between the existing radioinfrastructure and the selected domain.

Through this information exchange operator-specific radio parameters anduser equipment properties can be integrated into the decision process.Consequently, this results in new criteria for the allocation.

The question of when and how a decision is made within a network withrespect to controlling voice can be answered such that that the accessnetwork control is carried out under incorporation of operator-specificradio parameters and user equipment properties, the objective being thatof deciding and controlling whether voice is implemented via theconventional CS service or via VoIP.

For outgoing calls the resulting criteria are as follows:

-   -   service    -   destination network    -   static and dynamic user equipment properties for subscribers A        and B    -   subscriber preferences    -   network operator preferences

For mobile incoming calls the resulting criteria are as follows:

-   -   service    -   originating network    -   static and dynamic user equipment properties for subscribers A        and B    -   subscriber preferences    -   network operator preferences

The invention will be described in more detail below in conjunction withdrawings that illustrate one possible embodiment. Additional featuresthat are essential to the invention and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from the drawings and their description.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 shows an access control according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 shows an inventive dynamic access control.

The access control depicted in FIG. 1 shows a handoff from acircuit-switching (CS) telecommunication to a packet-switching (PS)telecommunication, which is known, for example, from telecommunicationon the Internet.

Such a packet-switched communication is carried out by means of variousprotocols, such as for example 2G or 3G, in which it is necessary for ahandoff from CS communication to PS communication that the twocommunication systems are capable of cooperating with one another.

This cooperation for the handoff between these systems is known from theprior art as so-called interworking, which is carried out by means of aninterworking server.

From a mobile user equipment (UE) voice signals are transmittedcircuit-switched (1, 2) or packet-switched (3, 4, 5) to an interworkingserver in the particular access network (10).

This server recognizes from the incoming voice signals whether the voicesignals are circuit-switched (1, 2) or packet-switched (3, 4, 5).

After the appropriate transcoding in the access network (10) these voicesignals are relayed to the appropriate network either circuit-switchedCS (11) or packet-switched PS (12).

It is possible to relay such voice signals to a service portal (14)comprising a virtual network VPN (15), an intelligent network IN (16),or an IP multimedia subsystem IMS (17).

Additionally, the voice signals can be relayed as circuit-switched CS(11) or packet switched PS (12) voice signals to a mobile radio networkPLMN (18).

Additionally, the voice signals can be relayed as circuit-switched CS(11) signals to a public switched telephone network PSTN (19) or aspacket switched PS (12) signals to the Internet (20).

The inventive solution for controlling voice signals that is shown inFIG. 2 illustrates that voice signals are relayed by means of acorresponding controller (23) from a CS access network (24) or from a PSaccess network (25) directly to the Internet (20), to the publicswitched telephone network (19), to a service portal (14), or to amobile radio network (18), with the controller (23) dynamically makingthe decision to relay the voice signals to the respective network bymeans of the aforementioned decision criteria.

It is important in this context that the respective voice signals aretransmitted to the controller (23) via an access network (24) withcircuit switched CS voice signals or from an access network (25) withpacket-oriented PS voice signals.

The subject matter of the present invention is attained not only fromthe subject of the individual claims but also from the combination ofthe individual claims with one another.

All of the specifications and features disclosed herein, including inthe abstract, especially the three-dimensional embodiment depicted inthe drawings, are claimed as essential to the invention to the extentthat they are novel either individually or in combination over the priorart.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   1. 2G CS (CS=2nd generation circuit switching)-   2. 3G CS (CS=3rd generation circuit switching)-   3. 2G PS (PS=2nd generation packet switching)-   4. 3G PS (PS=3rd generation packet switching)-   6. Selection-   7. 2G (2^(nd) generation)-   8. 3G (3^(rd) generation)-   9. LTE (Long Term Evolution (working term for the radio portion of    the next generation mobile networks)-   10. Access network-   11. CS (CS=circuit switching)-   12. PS (PS=packet switching)-   13. Selection-   14. Service portal-   15. VPN (virtual private network)-   16. IN (intelligent network)-   17. IMS (IP multimedia subsystem)-   18. PLMN (public land mobile network)-   19. PSTN (public switched telephone network)    -   ISDN (integrated services digital network)-   20. Internet-   21. Control data base-   22. Control logic-   23. Controller-   24. CS access network-   25. PS access network

1. A telecommunication system comprising at least one subsystem withCS-based telecommunication and at least one other subsystem withPS-based VoIP telecommunication, wherein a controller (23) is providedthat implements a dynamic allocation between at least one subsystem withCS-based telecommunication and at least one subsystem with PS-basedtelecommunication, wherein access network requests are taken intoaccount at least partially, wherein an additional exchange ofinformation implements an integration of operator-specific parametersand user equipment properties into a decision process for the dynamicallocation.
 2. A method for allocating at least a portion of a voiceconnection of a telecommunication system to CS-based or PS-based(segments of) transmission paths, wherein this allocation takes placedynamically based on requirements of the access network (24, 25).
 3. Amethod according to claim 2, wherein the control (23) of the allocationis carried out in a context-based manner.
 4. A method according to claim2, wherein an additional information exchange between the existing radioinfrastructure and the selected domain via CS or PS is performed in thecontrol (23) of the allocation.
 5. A computer program stored on anon-transitory computer readable medium, having a program code with theaid of which all steps of allocating at least a portion of a voiceconnection of a telecommunication system to CS-based or PS-based(segments of) transmission paths according to a method according toclaim 2 can be carried out, wherein the computer program is executed ona computer or appropriate computer unit, wherein a dynamic allocation isimplemented based on requirements of the access network (24, 25).
 6. Acomputer program product having a program code stored on acomputer-readable non-transitory data carrier, with the aid of which allsteps of allocating at least a portion of a voice connection of atelecommunication system to CS-based or PS-based (segments of)transmission paths according to a method according to claim 2 can becarried out, wherein the computer program is executed on a computer orappropriate computer unit, wherein a dynamic allocation is implementedbased on requirements of the access network (24, 25).